L&I reforms and coal plant closures - the spirit of compromise abounds

This afternoon the House passed a sweeping reform package for the state Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), adding flexibility for employers and injured workers, and stricter accident prevention enforcement. In total, the package potentially saves the workers’ compensation system tens of millions of dollars each year and drives down employer premiums.

The changes come in the wake of an overhaul to the state unemployment insurance forged with broad bi-partisan participation.

“That same spirit of bringing together all parties to come to a compromise was applied to this negotiating process, in order to find common ground,” said Rep. Mike Sells, the Chair of the House Labor & Workforce Development Committee and a chief negotiator of the package.

You can read more about the bills here.

In other breaking news, an agreement was announced today between lawmakers and Transalta to begin closing down its Centralia coal plant.

The waiting is the hardest part

Long lines at state Department of Licensing offices may soon be a thing of the past.

The House passed legislation today that would allow DOL to authorize traffic safety schools to administer the driver exams. Rep. Dave Upthegrove, the bill's sponsor, says the change would remove the most time-intensive staff function from DOL offices, freeing up more personnel to provide customer service at the counter.

In some areas, wait times at DOL offices are measured in hours rather than minutes.

"You take a number and sit in an uncomfortable plastic chair and you wait. And you wait. And you wait," Upthegrove said on the House floor today.

He was motivated to sponsor the measure because the problem seems to be universally recognized, but the Department of Licensing hasn't provided a fix yet.

There are approximately 200 private driving schools in Washington, but only 30 driver licensing offices. Consumers will have more options by being able to take the exam at one of the driving schools, Rep. Upthegrove says.

Additionally, the bill increases the renewal period for driver's licenses from five years to six years. It also gives people who opt to renew their licenses online a five dollar price break off the renewal cost.

Health care bills target transparency, parity

Numerous health care-related bills cleared the House today, including one to provide more transparency for consumers about premium increases, and another to help the state prepare for the implementation of federal health care reform.

One bill, sponsored by freshman legislator Rep. Laurie Jinkins, will help Washingtonians who are battling cancer. It requires insurers to provide comparable coverage for both oral and intravenous cancer drugs. Often times, oral chemotherapy is the better treatment, but patient co-pays for this can be thousands of dollars more than IV treatment, even though oral chemotherapy can usually be done at home and IV treatment requires a trip to the hospital.

Here, in her speech on the House floor, Rep. Jinkins explains why this parity is important not just for patients, but for their families as well:

WA Whiteboard: Unemployment and Education

Rep. Larry Seaquist takes a moment to connect unemployment rates to work he's doing in the Higher Education Committee:

Heading into final days before major cutoff deadline

Today is likely to be another late night as members work to pass their bills before Monday's house-of-origin cutoff deadline. So far, the plan is that we'll be here tomorrow but Sunday isn't yet confirmed.

There are a few committee hearings this morning for the Labor & Workforce Development and Technology, Energy & Communications committees.

At 10:00, the House will convene on the floor for a resolution and then head to caucus. On the horizon for today: health care legislation.

‘Building bridges’ in our schools

Rep. Andy Billig hit the ball out of the park yesterday with his speech on the House floor in favor of House Bill 1829. The bill puts into statute the Office of Native Education within the state Superintendent's Office, something that Rep. Billig says is long overdue. Native Americans helped chart the history of our state, and having this Office not only ensures that the particular challenges of Native American students are addressed, but that all students gain exposure to the language and culture of our native peoples.

"It helps to build bridges in our schools for Native American students, and for all students," Rep. Billig said.

Celebrating half-time with more floor action

We’ve passed the half-way point in the 2011 session!

Unfortunately, there is no half-time break for us. Floor action will continue this morning at 10:00 and run all day, though we don't expect to go as late as we did yesterday.

There are a couple House committees meeting this morning including Business & Financial Services and Education.